Pete could face prosecution for 'gorilla' coat

PUBLISHED: 13:46 20 January 2006 | UPDATED: 20:19 03 May 2010

Pete Burns wearing the coat.
* Pic courtesy of the BB official website

CONTESTANT Pete Burns could still face prosecution over his controversial gorilla skin coat seized from the Celebrity Big Brother House by Herts Police. Tests revealed that the coat belonging to the surgically enhanced 80s pop sensation Pete Burns was i

CONTESTANT Pete Burns could still face prosecution over his controversial "gorilla skin" coat seized from the Celebrity Big Brother House by Herts Police.

Tests revealed that the coat belonging to the surgically enhanced 80s pop sensation Pete Burns was in fact made from the skins of endangered black and white colobus monkeys. The case has been handed to the Crown Prosecution Service for further advice.

A spokesperson for the police said: "Any offences under the Control of Trade in Endangered Species Regulations around this type of animal would be around the illegal importation of this type of fur."

The coat was seized yesterday (Thursday) from the house in Elstree, near St Albans, by officers who had received a number of complaints from the public after the flamboyantly freakish contestant boasted that the coat was made from gorilla skins.

The police have come under fire for what some believed was nothing more than a wild monkey chase and a waste of police time. The spokesperson said: "The constabulary has a duty investigate every crime as expeditiously as possible. Wildlife crime is taken just as seriously as any other crime."

Two officers went to the house but did not go inside and one officer was assigned to deal with the case.

The coat was tested by experts at London's Natural History Museum who said that it is was in a relatively poor condition and that it had been relined at some point in the past.